When Kael opened his eyes again, the first thing he noticed was the stillness. It was as though time had stopped, leaving him suspended in a void of silence. The once-vibrant colors of the fractured city were gone, replaced by an overwhelming sense of darkness and weight. He couldn't hear Ivy or Aiden anymore, nor feel the tug of the vortex pulling at him. It was as if the world itself had taken a deep breath and held it.
Kael tried to move but found himself frozen in place, his body unable to respond. His mind, however, was wide awake, alive with a strange, unfamiliar energy. The whispers from before—the voice that had filled his thoughts—returned, but now they were clearer, sharper.
You have been called, Kael.
The voice was neither male nor female, but something in-between, like the essence of a forgotten god or a lost memory. It echoed around him, reverberating in the emptiness.
The shard is not a thing, Kael. It is a part of you. It always has been.
He strained against the invisible force that bound him, the words sinking into his very soul.
"What does that mean?" Kael thought, desperate for answers. "Why can't I move? Where am I?"
You are in the space between all things, the voice answered, as if reading his thoughts. This is the place where worlds are born and destroyed. Where time and memory intertwine, and the Veil is weak. It is here that you must understand who you truly are.
Suddenly, the void around him shimmered, and a vision began to form. It was faint at first, like a distant dream, but then it sharpened, and Kael saw himself—his younger self—standing in front of a vast, ancient tree. The tree was unlike any he had ever seen, its bark black and gleaming, its leaves glimmering with a strange, silver light. The ground around the tree was marked with symbols, patterns that twisted and turned in impossible ways.
He watched as a figure appeared before him—a woman, her face hidden in shadow. Her presence was powerful, and yet, there was a tenderness in her gaze as she reached out to him. Kael wanted to speak, to ask who she was, but no words came. The vision continued, showing the woman placing her hand on his chest, and then, suddenly, there was pain—a sharp, agonizing pain that made Kael's breath catch in his throat.
The vision flickered and distorted, and for a brief moment, Kael saw himself standing in the same spot, but older—his face marked with time and scars, his eyes filled with a haunting emptiness. The woman was gone, but the tree remained, its roots now intertwined with the very ground he stood on.
This is where it all began, the voice whispered, the words like a cold wind against his skin. The Veil, the shard, the forgotten memories—they are all connected to you. To the blood that runs through your veins.
"What is happening to me?" Kael managed to think, struggling against the force that held him in place.
You are awakening, the voice replied. The shard that you seek is not something you can find with your eyes. It is within you, and it has been for as long as you've existed. The essence of the Veil, the truth of your past, is bound to your very soul. You are the key to both saving and destroying this world.
The vision shifted again, this time showing Kael standing beside Ivy and Aiden, the three of them at the edge of a cliff, looking out over an endless sea of darkness. The sky above them was torn, ribbons of light and shadow swirling together in a never-ending dance. The city from before had vanished, replaced by an abyss that stretched infinitely in every direction.
Kael felt a surge of emotion—a mixture of fear, hope, and something else. He reached out to touch Ivy's hand, and she turned to him, her eyes wide with concern. Aiden was standing beside her, his hand gripping his sword, ready for anything. The three of them were bound together, tied by fate, but there was a sense of urgency in the air. They were about to face something far greater than they could comprehend.
The world is ending, Kael, the voice said softly. The Veil is breaking, and with it, everything you know will unravel. But there is a way to stop it. You must find the truth. You must unlock the power within you before it is too late.
Kael's heart thundered in his chest. "How do I stop it?" he thought, the question rising from the depths of his being.
The answer lies within you. The shard is not an object—it is a part of the Veil itself. It holds the power to shape reality, to bend time and space. But it is incomplete. It needs you to remember. To awaken.
The void around Kael began to ripple, the vision dissolving into fragments of light and shadow. He could feel himself slipping, the world around him fading once again, but there was a warmth in his chest, a faint, pulsing energy that grew stronger with each passing second.
And then, as suddenly as it had begun, the vision shattered. Kael gasped, his body jerking as he was thrust back into the physical world. The cold wind of the broken city hit him once again, and he felt the weight of his body return to him.
Ivy and Aiden were standing in front of him, their eyes wide with concern, but also with something else—something he couldn't place. They had seen what he had seen.
"You… you were gone for a moment," Ivy said, her voice trembling. "We couldn't reach you."
Kael blinked, still trying to process what had just happened. "I… I saw something. Something about the shard. And the Veil. I—I think I understand now."
Aiden stepped forward, his gaze hard. "What do you mean, 'understand'? What did you see?"
"I saw my past," Kael said, his voice low and steady. "I saw the truth of the shard. It's not just a piece of a game. It's part of me. Part of the Veil. I'm the key to everything. To saving us… or destroying us."
Ivy's eyes widened in shock. "You're saying the shard… it's inside you? That's what all of this has been about?"
Kael nodded, his gaze distant. "Yes. And we need to find the rest of it. Before the Veil completely breaks."
The sky above them twisted, and the air grew heavier with each passing second. The Veil was not just a force—they were learning the hard truth. It was a presence, a sentient force, and it had been watching them all along.
The game had only just begun.